Problems of the Week - August 9 to August 15

Rewards for Problems of the week:

5 stars for the correct answer at your level; 10 stars for the next level; 20 stars for 2+ levels up.

Lower Elementary:

Question: A whale shark weighs 20 tons. A car weighs 2 tons. How many cars weigh the same as a whale shark?

Upper Elementary:  

Question: A baby green sea turtle weighs 4 ounces. A fully grown green sea turtle weighs 350 pounds. How many times heavier is the fully grown green sea turtle than the baby green sea turtle?

Middle School: 

Question: A blue coral and a black coral are the same size. The blue coral grows at a rate of 3 millimeters per year. The black coral grows 8 centimeters per year. How much bigger will the black coral be than the blue coral in 100 years?

Algebra and Up: 

Question:  Flying fish can jump out of the water and “fly” through the air to avoid predators. A flying fish’s distance from the water’s surface in decimeters can be calculated with the function f(t) = ^–5t² + 15t, in which t is the number of seconds the fish is out of the water. How high above the water is the fish after 1½ seconds?

Challenge problem to take home. 5 stars for the correct answer. 

Two ants sit at the base of a cylindrical can with height 6 cm and circumference 16 cm. They want to get to the point at the top of the can directly overhead, but neither ant is in any particular hurry.

Ant A decides to make 2 complete trips around the can, while Ant B decides to make it 3. Given their respective plans, each ant takes the shortest possible path.

How far does Ant B travel compared to Ant A?